MOTOR SPORTS : CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY GETS SEAL OF APPROVAL WINSTON CUP STARS DELIGHTED BY NEW TRACK.

Byline: BILL SCHLOTTER

The brand new California Speedway in Fontana got more rave reviews early this week from people whose opinions matter to track officials.

Seven teams from the NASCAR Winston Cup circuit stopped by Monday and Tuesday for tests in preparation for the June 22 California 500, the track's coming-out party.

They came, they saw, they burned rubber around the two-mile D-shaped oval.

And then they talked about it.

``It's beautiful,'' said 18-time Winston Cup winner Geoff Bodine. ``I think it's even better than we expected.

``It's a very fast track - very fast.''

None of the seven - Bodine, Rusty Wallace, Kenny Wallace, Mark Martin, Billy Standridge, Jeff Burton and Wally Dallenback Jr. - had an unkind word or piece of advice about the track or facilities, said California Speedway president Greg Penske.

``They were very complimentary,'' Penske said.

Track officials had expected around 20 teams for the test session. But when the April 27 Winston 500 at Talladega, Ala., was postponed to this Saturday - previously an open date - most of the teams opted to skip the session and head straight for Alabama.

Bodine was particularly impressed with the speedway's amenities.

``They've got 30,000 paved parking places (actually 32,000),'' said Bodine, more accustomed to the dirt facilities at older tracks. ``Give me a break.''

Sweet victory: Mark Martin was a happy fellow Monday and Tuesday as he ran his Ford Thunderbird around the Speedway track.

Sunday, Martin ended a 42-race winless streak by taking the Save Mart Supermarkets 300 at Sears Point near Sonoma.

``I'm more happy about this win than any other I've had,'' said Martin, a 19-time winner. ``It's a relief.''

Martin said there were a variety of reasons for the run of frustration.

``Sometimes things just didn't go our way,'' he said. ``Other times they did and we just weren't good enough to take advantage of them.''

But through it all, he said, his team and owner Jack Rousch - for whom he has driven since 1988 - were behind him.

``My race team is very supportive,'' he said.

Martin, too, had praise for the California Speedway.

``It's going to be a great place to race,'' he said.

IROC No. 2: The lineup for the second race of the International Race of Champions series, to be run Friday, May 16, as a prelude to May 17's NASCAR Winston Select in Charlotte, N.C., has been set.

The order is the reverse of the finish of the first race, with CART's Jimmy Vasser and NASCAR's Darrell Waltrip in the first row.

Starting in Row 6 of the 12-car race are Race 1 winner Al Unser Jr. and runner-up Mark Martin of NASCAR.

Round 3 of the four-race series, featuring top drivers from various racing disciplines, will be June 21 at the California Speedway.

Rio si, Buenos Aires no: As the CART Indy car drivers prepared for Sunday's Rio 400 in Brazil, CART president Andrew Craig was denying rumors the tour planned to included a stop in Argentina on next year's schedule.

``Argentina is a wonderful country, of course,'' Craig said, ``but we have no plans to race there in the foreseeable future.''

Already international with stops in Brazil and Australia this season, CART will add a race in Japan next year.

Pedregon to be honored: Camarillo drag racer Cruz Pedregon will receive the Premio de Oro in New York on Tuesday, an honor bestowed on prominent Hispanic athletes.

Previous winners include Seattle Mariners shortstop Alex Rodriguez and former San Francisco Giants pitcher Juan Marichal.

Motocross tour arrives: The American Motorcyclist Association's National Motocross Series will run at San Bernardino's Glen Helen Raceway on Sunday.

Among the top riders will be defending AMA champions Greg Emig (250cc) and Steve Lamson (125cc) both of Riverside.

Peddles to the metal: Three-time world cycling champion Greg LeMond is finding his inaugural season racing cars even more difficult than peddling through the French Alps.

LeMond has run four races of the USAC Formula Ford 2000 series and crashed four times.

LeMond is quick to point out that only one, a mishap during practice at the fast Phoenix International Raceway oval, was his fault.

He wasn't hurt in that accident, but LeMond said his confidence was damaged.

``When you hit the wall at 70 or 80 mph, it kind of shakes you a little bit,'' he said.

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